


It's a revolution, I suppose

by katiesomething



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Misfits Fusion, Teen Wolf Reverse Bang
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-29
Updated: 2013-01-29
Packaged: 2017-11-26 22:11:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/654945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katiesomething/pseuds/katiesomething
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Of all the things Stiles might have expected to happen after being assigned community service, a freak lightning storm giving them special powers was pretty low on the list. Maybe number seven.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's a revolution, I suppose

**Author's Note:**

> My contribution to the Teen Wolf Reverse Bang. 
> 
> Inspired by this wonderful art: http://i.imgur.com/Viv4g.jpg by asylumbound360 at LJ.
> 
> Beta'd by Alex, who is possibly the best person ever for dealing with my procrastination and constant misspelling of lightning.

Having the town's sheriff for a father was usually okay, though there were times when it got a little annoying, like when none of the kids at school wanted him at their parties or wanted to sit with him at lunch or... maybe that had more to do with him than his dad, but that was an argument for another day.

This time, it was a really lucky thing that his dad was so important. Stiles was pretty much banking on it, actually. 

His dad didn't seem as amused as Scott had when Stiles had proposed his idea of re-tagging the side of the town's youth center. It was already covered in graffiti, most of it badly drawn things from kids a town or two over. Beacon Hills didn't have too many delinquents. 

There was one piece though, a very crudely drawn middle finger and the text "Cops are assholes" next to it. It irritated Stiles for very obvious reasons, so he had gone to Scott and pitched the idea of driving out there and editing it.

They had driven out at night the first weekend of summer break and while Scott worked on changing the middle finger to a thumbs up, Stiles crossed out the 'assholes' and wrote 'very nice, actually.' above it. Of course when they were packing up and about to leave, the red and blue lights of a police cruiser lit up the wall. 

The officer on patrol, Greg, was one of Stiles' favorites and had definitely looked like he thought it was amusing. Stiles was even pretty sure that he snapped a picture on his phone before loading them into the back of the patrol car.

Which of course led them to where they were sitting in the station, where Melissa and his dad were filling out the paper work to get them released. Scott was giving him the silent treatment and every once in a while his dad would turn and stare at him through the window. 

Melissa came in to collect Scott and gave Stiles her best motherly I-Am-So-Disappointed look on the way out. 

A few minutes went by before Greg came back in and told Stiles that the sheriff still had some stuff to do and that Stiles was supposed to just sit and wait for his dad to be off work. On the way out he tossed Stiles a packet of cookies and told him to hide the evidence before it was time to go.

After a few more hours of an extremely boring wait, the sheriff came back in and stood quietly while Stiles gathered his things.

The drive home was silent. The radio was off and the only noise was the low rumble of the engine. 

"So I bet you're-"

"Don't. Stiles. Don't say anything. I don't want to hear anything that you think you have to say."

By the time they got back to the house Stiles was neck deep in guilt. It only grew as his dad poured himself a glass of scotch and stared at Stiles over the rim of the glass. 

"You and Scott have to complete three months of community service. Starting Monday you'll spend your weekdays at the youth center, at least six hours a day. Weekends will be spent in the house. You're grounded until school starts again."

"That's all summer, dad!"

The look on the sheriff's face was enough to stop Stiles from saying anything else. 

"You'll only be allowed to leave the house when I say you can. If you're lucky I'll take you to the station to try and work off some of your punishment. No friends are going to be coming over, and you're very lucky that I am not taking away your computer, if only because I know how annoying you'll be if you don't have it."

"Yes sir." Stiles said, backing out of the room when his dad waved him away. He headed up the stairs to his room, feeling heavy with guilt. His great ideas never really seemed that great once he was on the other side of them.

 

* * *

 

 

When Monday finally came around, Stiles picked Scott up from his house to go to the youth center. Mrs. McCall stood on the porch in her scrubs, probably coming home from work or about to leave, and she nodded at him but didn't wave or smile. Stiles had the feeling that if Scott could drive or if Mrs. McCall didn't have to work, she wouldn't have let Scott get in the car with him anymore. It stung, but he knew that he deserved it. 

"Just so you know, I'm not speaking to you." Scott said as soon as he got in the car. "My mom is pissed and was threatening to send me to a boarding school."

"Your mom would never do that."

"Only because we can't afford it." Scott turned his rare 'I'm completely serious and if you don't listen you'll regret it for the rest of our friendship' look to Stiles. "We would be unable to afford it even more if your dad hadn't of talked down the fine that they wanted to give us. She said that it was almost a thousand dollars."

There was the tidal wave of guilt again, choking Stiles up and making his headache come back.

"I'm sorry. You know that, right? I didn't mean for anything to happen like this."

"I know." Scott sighed. "I'm mad at you, but if I hadn't of gone then I wouldn't of gotten in trouble, so it's as much my fault as it is yours."

"Still brothers?"

"Of course you asshole. We'll always be brothers."

Stiles smiled and he could feel the happiness that always radiated from Scott when he smiled. The guilt eased but lingered in the back of his throat and behind his eyes.

 

* * *

 

 

There were three other people in their group for community service. 

Lydia Martin, one of the most popular girls in school who had been the subject of intense gossip for the last few weeks after she trashed the chemistry lab and set one of the rooms in the science building on fire. Her mother was a defense attorney and managed to talk the school down to a hefty fine and a few months of community service instead of jail time, citing mental issues in the aftermath of the messy divorce her parents had recently gone through.

Her boyfriend, Jackson Whittemore, who broke the town's record for most unpaid speeding tickets ever. The final count had come out to about thirty seven tickets and a whopping fee of eight thousand dollars. His father was one of the most influential men in town, however, and got the mayor to pardon half of the fees in exchange for nine months of community service. 

Third, there was Allison Argent. She had moved into town with her parents a few months before. Their family business was selling firearms, and she had been caught hunting on private property. The owners of the property had dropped the charges once she agreed to the community service. 

They were all gathered in front of the youth center, dressed in bright orange jumpsuits. Lydia had accessorized hers and was probably the only one of them that actually managed to look good in it. Jackson just tied the top half of his around his waist and sneered at anyone who told him to put it on correctly. The other three just wore theirs normally, not bothered by the unfashionable look.

That first day things were awkward. Lydia kept Allison next to her side and Jackson trailed behind them with a smirk on his face. Stiles tried to talk to Scott, but Scott just kept staring at Allison with a dreamy smile. 

"Alright, we have a lot to do today, children. If you want me to sign off on your hours then we'll need to get started right now."

Their probation officer was introduced by the director of the youth center as "Mr. Hale" but he quickly amended that with a "Peter, Mr. Hale is far too formal." and a look that was almost a smirk but looked much more like a leer. 

He had driven them out to the highway where they were supposed to pick up trash and then sat in the car watching and texting someone on his phone. 

Their day passed relatively quietly. Lydia and Jackson refused to pick up trash and Scott mumbled in Allison's direction while Stiles tried to shake off the feeling of being watched and picked up whatever trash was closest to him. Eventually Peter had stretched his head out of the van and called for them to pull it in. 

Scott got Allison's number before they left and smiled out the window the whole drive home. He mumbled a goodbye and tumbled out of the jeep as soon as Stiles stopped the car. 

Stiles walked into his empty house to a note that said "Working a double" and made himself dinner. He ate alone and went to bed early rather than try and wait up for his dad. 

By the time he woke up, he could hear the front door closing and his dad's car starting.

 

* * *

 

 

The first few weeks passed in pretty much the same way. Peter told Lydia and Jackson that he wouldn't sign off on their hours if they didn't start working, and they actually listened to him. 

Scott started talking to Allison at a normal volume, and they were starting to talk about dating. Once Scott was done being grounded, of course. They tended to spend breaks together, being adorable in the most ridiculous amounts.

Stiles? Stiles was exactly the same. He would leave in the morning for the youth center and come home right after to an empty house. His dad started taking late shift and coming home well after Stiles was in bed. When their schedules did match up, it was only for a few moments, and the look in his dad's eyes made Stiles hide in his room for the rest of the day.

 

“You missed a spot.”

Stiles cringed at how close the voice was to him. He slowly put his brush down and checked to make sure Scott was still right next to him. He was, but his headphones were in and he was oblivious to Peter's creeping as usual. 

Peter had latched onto him the first week, apparently deciding that Stiles was the perfect subject for inappropriate suggestions and leering at, despite the fact that Stiles was the only one who had a parent in law enforcement. 

“If you don't do a good job during your time here, I have the ability to add time onto your sentence. Keep you here a little longer than your friends.” Peter was too close, again, and Stiles shifted away from him. 

“I don't think my dad, the sheriff, would sign off on that, Mr. Hale.”

Peter just laughed, his eyes flashing when they caught the light. He leaned forward like he was going to say something but a loud crash of thunder cut him off. 

“What...” Peter murmured, and they all turned to look at the sky. It had been a relatively sunny day when they first showed up but now dark clouds were rolling in out of nowhere. A particularly loud rumble of thunder made them all jump, and then the lightning started. It struck at random, and it looked like it was hitting the ground in certain spots around town. 

“Maybe we should go in!” Stiles yelled over the wind, but Peter shook his head.

“You still have thirty minutes of work to do or I'm not signing off for today.”

“But...” Stiles didn't get to finish what he was saying before the light flashed and there was a moment of complete pain.

The next thing he knew, he was looking up at a clear blue sky and laying in a tangled mess of his friends on the ground.

 

* * *

 

 

Stiles had little to no memory of getting home that night. He vaguely remembered getting off the ground and hearing Peter say that they could leave, but then his brain skips right to waking up the next morning sore and still tired. 

He got ready like normal, though his hair smelled like smoke and he kept shocking everything that he touched. 

There was no time for him to stop and eat breakfast, since he had allowed himself a little extra time to sleep. He just sped past the opening to the kitchen, backtracked to say "Eat something healthy!" to his dad, and ran out of the house to the sound of his father grumbling in the kitchen. 

Stiles drove past Scott's house, ignoring the dull sting of jealousy that he had been fighting since Scott had told him that Allison offered to start picking him up and dropping him off. 

It wasn't that Stiles wanted to be with Scott, there was nothing that grossed him out more than that thought (though maybe the half remembered sight of Melissa and his dad kissing a few years ago, before they both realized that dating wasn't what either of them wanted, came in a close second), but he did want to spend time with him. Usually they would be inseparable during the summer. This year, with Stiles grounded and Melissa still upset over him dragging Scott into trouble, they only had the time at community service and the drives back and forth to hang out. 

Allison, Stiles knew for a fact, had been going over to Scott's to hang out and Scott had spent two hours telling Stiles about their first date in graphic, mind numbingly, redundant detail. There was no world in which Stiles needed to know that Allison smelled like strawberries but tasted like mint (Stiles didn't have the heart to tell Scott that the mint was probably just gum that she had likely been chewing).

So Stiles was a bit more lonely than usual. But he tried not to let it get to him. His dad had never followed through on his longer groundings. Probably because he was afraid that the few friends Stiles did have would forget that he existed if he was away for too long.

When he got to the youth center, everyone else was waiting outside. 

Stiles thinks about asking why they're all waiting outside, but then Lydia beats him to it by offering up the information voluntarily. 

"Peter hasn't unlocked the center yet. It's supposed to open at eight but he hasn't showed."

They waited for two hours. Scott and Allison decided that if Peter wasn't going to show then they obviously didn't have to do anything today and left together. 

"Fifty bucks says she lets him get to second base today." Stiles said into the awkward silence that had fallen. 

Jackson just scoffed and checked his phone.

"I have to meet my dad at his office, do you need a ride home?" He asked Lydia without looking up from his phone.

Stiles was looking at her and she seemed resigned, almost sad.

"No, it's alright. Stiles will drive me."

Stiles just flailed at her as Jackson nodded and walked off to wherever he had parked.

"I'll have you know I'm not just some personal chauffeur that you can make drive you around."

"I know that, Stiles. I would never let an employee dress how you do. You're dad is at work today, right? You're taking me to your house so I can talk to you about something." 

Lydia was already walking toward his jeep as she spoke, so he had to hurry after her to hear what she was saying. She stopped short next to the car, staring at the hood.

"What, is my baby not good enough for yo-"

Stiles stopped next to her, staring with disgust at the mangled bird on the hood of his jeep.

"That's so gross. Some bigger bird must have dropped it after killing it, right?"

Lydia nodded slightly and went around the back to the passenger side while Stiles got a tire iron out of the trunk and used it to push the bird onto the ground.

"Sorry, bird. I just don't have the time to bury you." He said quietly, pushing some dirt over it with his foot. When he turned back to face the car, Lydia was looking at him with an almost fond expression on her face.

Stiles just blushed and climbed into the car, sure that she hadn't heard him.

"So why the sudden need to see the place wherein I live?" Stiles asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"We'll talk when we get there, just focus on driving."

 

* * *

 

 

Lydia raised an eyebrow at Stiles as he laughed almost maniacally and sped around his room trying to make it decent.

"I don't know why you would ask to come into my room." Stiles said when he finally got the last of his clothes in the hamper and had thrown open a window.

"Unless this is where you finally admit your undying love for me and take me in a womanly fashion?"

Lydia's eyebrow went even higher.

"Nope, didn't really think so. Sit, sit."

Lydia immediately dropped to the floor and looked up at him with a confused frown. 

"I didn't mean it that literally, sit on the chair or the bed or something." 

She got to her feet and sat on his computer chair, which was good, because Stiles might have lost all speech ability if she had sat on his bed.

"I didn't mean to sit on the floor. I don't know why I did that. Maybe it has something about what I wanted to talk to you about." 

Stiles opened his mouth but Lydia just raised a hand and kept talking.

"Yesterday, we were... struck by lightning. Or something. I'm not actually sure because I don't remember much after. But this morning when I woke up... Everything was loud. It was like a crowd of people were talking in my room, right next to my bed. I thought I was going insane, but after a couple of hours I figured it out. I'm hearing people's thoughts."

Stiles just blinked at her for a second and then burst into laughter.

"Oh that is great. That is just awesome. Let me guess-"

"No, this isn't a joke that Jackson put me up to because he knows how much you like comic books and I am offended that you would think, even for a second, that I would go along with one of his silly little schemes."

Stiles let his jaw drop, because that was exactly what he had been thinking. 

"When you told me to sit. I just did it. I knew, rationally, that I should sit in the chair, but I felt compelled to do what you said. Maybe that lightning strike gave us like... abilities or something." Lydia said, sounding far too eager and not quite scared enough for Stiles' liking.

"You think I can make people do things just by saying it? That's insane."

"Try it." Lydia leaned back and gestured for him to start.

Stiles stared at her and thought about it for a second. Then he got an idea and her eyes were widening before he could get the words out.

"Kiss me."

It took a second, and then it was visible that she was holding herself back. Suddenly her hands let go of the chair and Stiles was wondering how far she would actually go until she stopped and admitted she was lying.

"I'm not, Stiles!" She gasped and then she was right next to him.

There was actual pain in her eyes, but it was too late to take it back, so instead he just turned his head so her lips landed on his cheek. That seemed to be enough and she flung herself backwards.

"You jackass! How was that a good idea at all? Do you have any idea how horrible that could have been?"

Lydia was trying to take deep breaths, hand pressed to her chest, and glaring at him.

"I'm sorry!" Stiles stood up and started pacing "I guess I still thought you were lying and the prospect of actually kissing me would make you give up the game."

Her eyes softened a little, and she moved back to the chair. 

"It's okay. You didn't think it would actually work. It felt... I didn't actually want to kiss you, and I knew that, but my body felt like I had to do it. When I resisted it started to hurt physically."

Stiles sat back down on his bed and stared at her.

"Touch your head."

Her hand automatically went up to her head.

"Stop touching your head. Turn the chair so it's facing the other way. Spin three and a half times."

Lydia followed his orders to the letter and they sat and just looked at each other for a few minutes when she was done.

"I think you should take me home now." Lydia said, glancing at his clock. "You'll want to be home well before your dad gets off shift."

Stiles just nodded and followed her out to the car, silent the whole drive home.

Lydia got out when he pulled into her driveway, but instead of going in she walked around to his window and motioned for him to roll it down.

"It wasn't disgust at the thought of kissing you, it was fear that you could make me do anything, even though I knew you wouldn't." She said quietly.

He smiled slightly at her and she just sighed. Before he could think anything else she reached in and pulled him closer, kissing him lightly on the mouth. It was quick, and Stiles didn't really feel anything from it after the tension of finding out about their abilities. He was so out of it that he didn't even notice her smirk while she walked backwards to the door.

"I still don't love you like that." She called out to him, and he just grinned and waved back at her as he pulled out.

 

He ate when he got home, left some food in the fridge for his dad with a smiley face on a sticky note, and went up to his room to find his phone. When he picked it up from the desk there was a new message from Lydia.

'We're going to talk to the others tomorrow, see if anything weird is happening to them too. If there is, we'll figure it out together.'

He sent her back a heart and a winky face and fell into bed, ready to sleep and hopefully wake up completely normal the next morning.

 

* * *

 

 

It didn't get better. Stiles spent Saturday texting Lydia while she spent time with Jackson, who was apparently thinking about breaking up with her but not acting on it, and testing his ability out over the phone and on video chat. 

Scott wasn't answering his texts about needing to talk, probably because Allison's dad was out of town for the weekend. Lydia had sympathized with him, she and Allison had quickly become best friends but now Allison was skipping out on shopping trips and talking about Scott most of the time they actually spent together.

So Lydia seemed to understand his loneliness. But Stiles still didn't feel like she could really get it.

Stiles met Scott when they were eleven years old. They had had some classes together but never spoke until Scott had an asthma attack during P.E. Only Stiles had tried to help him, and Scott had just... stuck around.

The next year was bad for both of them. Early in the year Scott's dad ran out on them, and in November Stiles' mom got sicker and then passed away. They never left each others' sides the whole time. Melissa and the Sheriff, who hadn't really wanted to celebrate but tried for their kids anyway, had Christmas dinner in the same house and let Stiles and Scott cling to each other as much as they needed.

Maybe it was too codependent, maybe they leaned on each other too much, but five years later they were still just as needy and just as dependent on each other. At least, Stiles was. Scott had apparently moved on from him to Allison, who admittedly could offer Scott more that Stiles could.

 

* * *

 

 

The last thing that Stiles expected from his weekend was Lydia showing up Sunday morning and sitting across from his dad at the breakfast table with a determined look on her face.

His dad just kept eating, eyes occasionally moving to look at Stiles while he waited for Lydia to start talking.

"Mr. Stilinski, I know that Stiles is grounded right now and therefore is not allowed to have people over or go out anywhere, but I was wondering if you could be lenient for this one day. I would like Stiles to accompany me to the mall. I would make sure that we're both home before the town curfew."

The Sheriff stared for a second then sighed. 

"Is she always this formal?" He asked Stiles, picking up his plate to put it in the sink. 

Stiles just shrugged, probably more confused than his dad. Lydia flashed him a thumbs up and then tapped her head.

"I'm assuming Stiles didn't put you up to this," his dad said as he came back into the room. "He's been behaving pretty well since the initial grounding, so I suppose I could let him have a day off. As long as he's back by eleven at the absolute latest."

Lydia grinned widely and thanked him before shooing Stiles up the stairs to change out of his pajamas. On his was back down he thought he heard Lydia say something about Scott, but they were done talking when he walked back in. 

The look on his dad's face was warmer than it had been in a long time, and he ran his hand over Stiles' head when Stiles walked past. It made Stiles feel okay again. He felt warm and like he might cry, so he made a joke about Lydia having to buy him dinner first as he climbed into her car.

Lydia just looked at him with a sad smile and held his hand while she drove. 

 

* * *

 

 

They hung out at the mall for a few hours. Lydia hadn't been lying about wanting Stiles to go to the mall with her, but she hadn't exactly been truthful about shopping. They spent most of their time in the food court, Lydia with her face almost pained while she tried to focus on just Stiles' thoughts and not the hundreds of others from people milling around the mall.

"Does it hurt when there are more people, or is it the concentrating?" Stiles asked when Lydia needed a break.

She just shrugged at him, trying to pretend that she wasn't staring at his curly fries. He just laughed and moved the tray to the middle of the table so she could have some.

"I think I've pretty much figured out how to drown them out by thinking about white noise. But it fills my head with static and that's almost as uncomfortable as the voices."

A girl from their school walked past and gasped at Lydia like she had heard what she said before pulling out her phone and texting furiously. Lydia just sighed and ate another curly fry.

"Either she's telling people that I hear voices or that I'm dating you now. Whichever it is, it'll be all around town by the time school starts."

"How do you put up with that? With everyone always talking about you?" Stiles asked, his curiosity genuine. He had never been popular. There were a few people he talked to other than Scott, but they were just school friends that didn't really mean anything to him.

"I guess I thought it was worth it. Then it wasn't, all of a sudden." Lydia looked so sad for a moment, like her walls lowered and Stiles could see all of the pain behind it.

"What happened?" He didn't want to push, but now seemed like the only time she might actually tell him.

"I was talking to Harris about getting into the advanced Chemistry class next year. He accused me of cheating, because I was obviously too stupid to know what I was doing. He just left me there, walked away without even thinking that I might be serious. I want to get into the best college possible, and I need that chemistry class to have a step up. I just got so angry that I started breaking things. And then I mixed some chemicals and left them on a burner even though I knew it was a bad idea. I still don't know exactly what I thought that would accomplish, but I wasn't thinking straight at the time." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, eyes finally meeting Stiles'. "When I saw the fire, I felt good. And then I felt horrible and guilty and turned myself in. Since then... I've felt kind of... worried. About what I could do if I were provoked. Who feels good about setting their school on fire?"

Stiles covered her hand with his and just sat there with her. It only took a moment for her to compose herself and stand, bouncing on her heels slightly as she pulled him out of his chair.

"Let's go hang out at my house for the rest of the day. I'm done with the mall."

She dragged him out of the food court without waiting for his reply.

When they got to the car Lydia climbed right in and started the car. Stiles was just standing on the passenger side of the car staring at the door.

"Lydia? Um. You might want to come over and look at your car...' Stiles said, trying to keep his voice calm.

She turned it off and got back out, already angry at the thought of someone doing anything to her car. But she lost the anger and felt a cold spike of fear in her chest when she saw the door of her car.

The word 'MINE' was scratched into the silver paint. Lydia moved to take a step forward but Stiles stopped her. He gestured down and she let out a sob as she glanced down. 

There was another bird on the ground, obviously killed unnaturally and placed there. Lydia turned toward Stiles so she could look away, and he walked them both a few steps away.

"I'm going to call my dad, okay? This is getting out of hand." Stiles said gently, moving Lydia's arms away from him.

"What do you mean? This is just starting how can it be out of hand?"

Stiles sighed. 

"After I took you home on Friday I was by myself. There was some scratching at the back door but I thought it was just a stray so I went to bed. When I woke up yesterday I checked and there were these gouges in the wood and a dead raccoon on the patio. I figured it just got attacked and crawled to where it died or something."

"That's one other thing. That's not out of hand."

"Not unless you count the bird on my car at the center. That's three different cases. My dad has this saying 'Once is an accident. Twice is a coincidence. Three times is a pattern.' I think. I think either there is some crazy ass psycho out there stalking me, or I've earned the psychotic affection of an animal who knows how to write."

Lydia just stared at him and he sighed again. There was just too much going on. He pulled out his phone to call his dad but someone's hand landed on his shoulder and he reacted out of reflex, spinning away and flailing his arms like an idiot.

"What the fuck man?" Stiles said, gasping. "You scared the shit out of me."

The guy raised an eyebrow at him, and then glanced at Lydia.

"I saw what happened to your car." 

Stiles looked over at Lydia and she shook her head just enough for him to see it.

"I just wanted to see if you were alright."

"Look. Can you just tell us what you really saw? We're not exactly in the mood to play games." Lydia's voice was sharp, and Stiles wondered what the guy was thinking for her to get at him that quickly.

"What I said, I saw your car and the bir-"

"Tell us the truth." 

Lydia's eyes widened slightly but Stiles refused to look at her. If this guy knew something then he needed the truth.

"I followed my uncle here and saw him do that to your car and drop the bird. I came over to see if you might know what's wrong with him but I wasn't sure how to ask."

Stiles tried not to sink into a panic right away. He hadn't really expected to be right about having a crazy stalker. 

"What's your name?" Stiles asked, made sure to ask and not tell him to answer.

Lydia gasped right before the man opened his mouth.

"Derek. I'm Derek Hale."

 

* * *

 

 

Stiles managed to keep the panic at bay until he and Lydia were driving back to her house, Derek following behind in his own car. Stiles gripped the arm rest on his seat so tightly that his skin started turning white.

"You need to calm down." Lydia said, her own hands gripping the steering wheel just a little too much. "Your thoughts are all over the place and it's making me panic."

The laugh that somehow escaped from Stiles' mouth sounded terrified, even to him.

"I just found out that our probation officer is stalking me and leaving me dead animals, Lydia. In what world would it make sense for me to be calm right now?"

"In this world, where the one person you can count on can hear your thoughts and is trying to drive a car through the haze of panic you're giving off!" Lydia snapped. 

Stiles shut up and closed his eyes, tried to think of anything other than the quickened beating of his heart or the feeling of fear slowly taking over his body.

He landed instead on thoughts of Derek, who had offered to follow them home and discuss options with them. Who had looked sincere in his readiness to help that Stiles almost didn't need Lydia to confirm his innocence. Who looked really freaking amazing in a leather jacket and who's stubble probably felt...

Lydia coughed politely and Stiles snapped his eyes open. She had a light blush going and Stiles just groaned.

"Is that something you want to talk about?" Lydia asked quietly as they turned onto her street.

"It's not really a big deal. I've liked guys for about as long as I've liked girls. Uh. Scott knows. My dad knows. No one else ever really cared enough to ask about it."

"Oh." 

Stiles glanced over at Lydia just in time to see her eyebrows furrow before her face relaxed and she looked back at him.

"Is that um... Is it going to be an issue?" Stiles asked uncertainly. Lydia was quickly becoming one of his closest friends and to lose her because of something like that would hurt more than, say, Jackson not ever wanting to talk to him anymore.

"No." Lydia shot out her hand to clutch Stiles' again. "Not a problem at all, Stiles." 

Lydia turned the car into her driveway and turned to face him more directly.

"I know that we weren't exactly friends before this, which I will admit is my fault because you're a great guy but I. Well. You were there so I won't give all of my reasons. I'm really hoping that we can be friends now though. You're really nice and smart and I feel stupid for purposely ignoring you for all of these years."

Stiles just smiled and gripped her hand. 

"Of course we can be friends. Best friends, even. I'll teach you how to play first person shooters."

"What makes you think I don't know to play, Stilinski?"

Lydia's laughter was the brightest part of Stiles' day, but before he could banter back there was a light knock on his window. The panic came back, on a slightly lower thrum, when he turned to see Derek waiting just outside the car. 

"Let's do this." Lydia said, letting go of his hand to get out of the car. 

It took Stiles a bit longer to get himself out of the car, and even then he had to stare somewhere else so he wouldn't have to see the marks on the door. 

When they were settled in Lydia's living room they both turned expectantly to Derek.

"I've been back in town for about two weeks, visiting my uncle. Last week he stopped coming home. It was right after that freak electrical storm. I don't know if it has anything to do with it but..." Derek trailed off, eyes shifting away from them.

"But you were hit by lightning and now you have some weird ability." Lydia filled in. "A much improved level of strength. Interesting."

"How did yo-"

"Know what you were thinking? Because I was hit and now I can head people's thoughts. All of them."

Derek's eyes flickered between Stiles and Lydia for a second before he cleared his throat. 

"Okay. Then yes, I was struck during the storm and when I went to work out the next day I lifted the entire bench with one hand. I haven't seen Peter since. I was looking for him at the center when I saw you guys waiting around for him. When you left he came out to look where your car was and I've trying to track him ever since."

Stiles ran a hand through his hair and stood to pace around the room.

"I just don't understand why he's stalking me. Sure he was creepy and kept pseudo-hitting on me, but how did that lead to leaving disgusting dead animals around and trying to claim me?"

"My uncle was only a part time probation officer. His full time job was at the wildlife preserve a few towns over. He studied wolves. I used to read over all of his wildlife journals when I was a kid. The things that he's doing, leaving dead animals and trying to keep other people away from you, it's like a skewed version of a mating."

The color drained out of Stiles' face and he sank back down onto the couch. Both Lydia and Derek moved toward him but he held his hands out.

"Don't touch me right now. I need you both to not touch me. I have to go home. Someone needs to drive me home right now."

Lydia stood up but Derek already had his keys out.

"You're already at home. I'll take him home, it'll be easier."

"Are you sure you're okay with that, Stiles?" Lydia asked gently, hand still hovering over her purse.

"Yeah, anything, as long as it gets me into my house."

Stiles stumbled after Derek out of the house. He heard Lydia say something about seeing him the next day at the center, but he was so far into his own head that he wasn't sure he actually answered her.

The drive home blurred together. Derek didn't try to start a conversation and Stiles was grateful for that. Trying to make small talk was the last thing Stiles could make himself do. He numbly gave Derek directions whenever he asked for them and kept focusing on his breathing.

They sat in the driveway with the car turned off for five minutes before Stiles could say anything.

"My dad's at work. I don't. All I can think is 'what if he is waiting for me in there' and apparently that is enough to keep me in your car. In case you were wondering why I was still hanging around. Not that you're not good company. I'm sure in better circumstances we would be hanging out in a car together for other reasons."

Stiles felt his cheeks flood with heat and he waved a hand at Derek. 

"We can forget every single thing I ever say."

"Do you want me to go in with you?" Derek's voice was rougher than it had sounded in Lydia's house, and he was looking out the window instead of at Stiles.

"Yeah." Stiles cringed at how needy his voice sounded. "Yeah, I would really appreciate that."

Derek stood behind him, almost close enough for Stiles to feel the heat from his body, and Stiles gave a second's thought to the fact that he was letting a complete stranger into his house because of his fear of someone who was less of a stranger to him. In the end, though, Derek being so close made him feel safer, less like Peter would jump out of the shadows and get him.

"I usually just go. Upstairs. To my room." Stiles gestured loosely toward the stairs, and Derek nodded. "You can hang out for a little while if you want. You just have to be gone before my dad gets home from work."

Derek followed him up to his room and Stiles settled into his chair. 

"I'm going to do some research. You can just... make yourself at home if you want. I have some books if you like to read, a game boy if you don't."

Derek grabbed a book and settled onto Stiles' bed easily. Stiles tried not to stare, and he gave a passing thank you to the heavens that Lydia wasn't around. 

Of course that was when his phone chirped at him.

'Practicing from a distance. Get some! <3'

Stiles let out a strangled laugh and then spun to boot up his computer when Derek looked up at him.

 

* * *

 

 

"You don't really talk much, do you?" 

Stiles' hands stilled on his keyboard, he was still searching for other people who were talking about strange things happening after the lightning storm. A glance at the clock told him that almost an hour had passed.

"I talk. Used to talk more but I cut back after the storm."

Derek was running his hands over everything on Stiles' shelves like it all fascinated him.

"Why?"

"It's safer that way."

"Sounds like a cop out." Derek picked up a thick book from the bookshelf and flipped it open.

"Put that back." 

Derek slid the book back into place.

"Come here." 

The confusion in Derek's eyes as he made his way over to where he was sitting made Stiles feel sick.

"Sit."

Watching Derek drop to the ground in front of him might have been enjoyable any other day or under any other circumstances, but now it was just horrible. 

"Don't stop me."

Stiles hoped Derek could hear the infliction in his voice. Hoped that he could see the uncertainty and that he knew that Stiles was having as much of a problem with it as he was.

Stiles reached out and stroked his finger along Derek's throat. The settled his palm against the beating of his heart.

"I didn't tell you what ability I got when the lightning hit. Now if I give a direct command... people have to obey it.I could kill you right now. I could tell you to do it yourself and you would. I could hurt you or make you do anything. Anything, Derek. And you wouldn't be able to say no. You have no idea how difficult it is knowing. Knowing that saying the wrong thing could hurt someone so badly. I have to be so careful of what I say."

He moved his hand from Derek's chest to Derek's shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted you to know why it's not a cop out. I can't just... talk anymore. You have no idea how much it sucks."

After one more reassuring squeeze to Derek's shoulder, Stiles moved across to the bookshelves. 

"Move freely again."

Derek's entire body sagged to the floor in an instant. He didn't go after Stiles, which was reassuring, but he also wasn't moving, which was bad. 

"Never. Never do that to me again." Derek's voice was a low rasp, and it made Stiles' skin crawl. 

"I won't. I promise."

Derek rose to his feet and staggered to the door.

"I should go. It's late and..."

"Yeah." Stiles opened his door and followed Derek down to the front door.

"Listen, I really am sorry. I just thought that a demonstration would make you understand more than me just saying the words." Stiles ran a hand through his hair with a sheepish smile. "I understand if you would rather stay away from me for now on though."

"Or, I could drop by every once in awhile? Keep an eye out for Peter. Come say hi." Derek offered, neither of them making eye contact.

"That would be good. I would like that. A lot."

Derek nodded and gave a small wave. Stiles watched as Derek walked back to his car and waited until he had driven away to go back inside. Stiles still had about an hour until his dad got home, so he went back upstairs to research feeling slightly lighter than he had all weekend.

 

* * *

 

 

Stiles and Lydia were the first to show up at the center on Monday. They both let out a sigh of relief that the doors were still locked and Peter was nowhere in sight. 

They waited together until Scott and Allison walked up from the parking lot, hand in hand as usual. 

"We need to talk to you about something." Scott blurted out as soon as they were within hearing distance. "There's something weird going on."

Stiles and Lydia laughed in unison and Scott shot a scared look at Allison.

"If they've teamed up then we're all screwed." Scott said.

Stiles and Lydia just grinned widely at him and reached their hands out for him at the same time. The look on Scott's face as he flinched away from them was worth the effort.

They all laughed together but it wasn't long before Stiles remembered the bigger issue and sobered up. 

"We do have something to talk about though. Which you would know if you ever read your texts or listened to your messages, Scott." Stiles' anger and loneliness bit at the back of his mind, but he pushed it back to focus on the real problem. There would be plenty of time to be mad at Scott later if they lived through everything.

"Sorry, man" Scott at least looked a little sheepish, though it was overwhelmed by the smile taking over his face as he looked at Allison. "I was spending time with Allison. But there is something weird going on that I wanted to talk to you about. You know how I've been working out in order to get on first line after break?"

Stiles nodded and looked over to where Allison and Lydia had wandered, standing with their heads together and their hands barely touching. 

"So I was on the treadmill last night, trying to see how fast I could go without needing my inhaler, and the weirdest thing happened." Scott paused, probably for a dramatic reveal. He liked to do that.

"I broke the machine."

"Okay?" Stiles asked, gesturing for him to go on. 

Allison was waving her arms around now and there was a genuine smile on Lydia's face. One that Stiles had never seen before. Something in his brain clicked and Lydia's hand twitched before her head turned to face him. She nodded slightly at him and he smiled back, thinking only encouraging things at her. He turned back to Scott, who was looking between Stiles and Lydia with a confused frown.

"That treadmill was pretty old, it probably just died." Stiles said.

"No, man. It didn't break down, it broke completely. Smoke started coming off of it and the belt ripped off."

"You have my attention." 

"I thought I might." Scott said, grinning. "I figured, might as well go for a jog. It'll do the same thing. So I left the house and started running. The next second I was in front of the house again. I did it like five times and I wasn't even out of breath. I ran all of the way to Allison's house in under a minute. We spent the rest of the night seeing how long I could keep running. Hours, Stiles. I ran for hours without even feeling it. It was the best thing ever."

"You went to Allison?" Stiles asked. "You got a strange new ability and you went straight to Allison's house?"

Scott's brow furrowed. "Well, yeah. She's my girlfriend. I thought she might want to know."

The anger was back, sitting heavy in the back of Stiles' throat. Lydia was by his side in a second, slipping her hand in his and glaring at Scott.

"We have some things to tell you guys, as well." Lydia said "But we want to wait for Jackson to get here so we only have to go through it once."

Scott's face twisted with confusion and he pushed at Stiles' shoulder.

"Man. You got with Lydia and you didn't even tell me?"

Stiles just stared at him, trying to push down the flood of anger that was rising quickly. 

Lydia squeezed Stiles' hand tighter and scowled at Scott.

"While you were ignoring your phone we were dealing with something much bigger than any silly relationship. And we're friends, Scott. Which means that I support him when something is wrong, not ignore him."

"How are you guys suddenly friends? You've barely ever spoken." Scott asked. He looked so confused that Stiles almost felt bad for him. But he didn't. Because Stiles was still mad and Stiles knew best how to hold onto anger.

"I've known Lydia for longer than you've known Allison, yet you have no problem spending all of your time with her." Stiles pointed out. 

"It doesn't matter." Lydia cut in. "Jackson is here. We need to have a group discussion."

Jackson wandered up to them looking pale and like he hadn't gotten much sleep. When he reached them he looked surprised, like he wasn't expecting them to be there. 

"Well now that we're all here. I guess we should discuss the things that have been happening." 

Lydia told them everything from the morning after the lightening strike to finding out that Peter was stalking Stiles. She left out everything between Stiles and Derek, and Stiles made sure to focus on his gratitude for that. 

Scott's face was dropping bit by bit, and when Lydia finished he looked absolutely stricken. Stiles let a little bit of his anger fall away, and he reached out to put a reassuring hand on Scott's shoulder.

"That explains my weekend then." Jackson said after a moment of silence. "I got in an accident Sunday. My car was totaled and there was a lot of blood. But by the time the police got there I didn't have a scratch on me. I know for sure I should at least have a broken arm. Instead I got a lecture on how lucky I am."

"Super healing. That should come in handy." Stiles said. 

Lydia wrapped an arm around Jackson and he leaned into her. 

"So you all got super awesome abilities. Nothing has been different with me. I guess I didn't have any potential for powers." Allison said.

"Maybe you're just awesome enough to not need any powers to enhance your wonderfulness." 

Allison smiled at Stiles and Scott hugged him. Full on bear hugged him. 

"I'm sorry. I am a horrible friend." Scott said.

"Only sometimes." Stiles replied, hugging him back.

 

They were thinking that they might be able to leave again when a black van pulled right up to the building.

An imposing looking man stepped out of the driver's door and a large dalmatian jumped out after him. 

"You must be Peter's group. I apologize for the sudden change in leadership, but Peter hasn't been showing up and the center doesn't have many workers available. My name is Alan Deaton, you can call me whatever you want. I run the vet's office in town. Unfortunately I agreed to do this last minute and don't have much work to give you today. I need to go back to the office soon but I figured I would leave Dotty here with you guys and as long as she's fine and healthy when I come back this afternoon I'll mark off your hours. Any questions?"

Everyone just shook their heads, so Deaton handed Dotty's leash to Scott and nodded at the rest of them.

"I'll be back at four." 

He pulled a box of toys and food out of the car and then drove off, leaving the group on stunned silence. They all looked down at Dotty, and she stared back up at them panting slightly.

 

* * *

 

 

"I have an idea!" Stiles said, shooting up from the ground.

They had spent the last couple of hours just laying around and playing with the dog. It had been a nice break but now Stiles had something in mind to test his ability. He crouched in front of Dotty and petted her for a second.

"Roll over." He said in his sternest voice. 

Dotty just licked his hand and then grabbed her rope toy to for him to grab.

"Jesus Stiles!" Scott yelled from behind him, and when he turned he saw all of his friends rolling around on the grass. Stiles knew for a fact that Jackson had been standing, which meant that he had dropped right down and started rolling.

"Stop!" Stiles gasped out through his laughter. "I'm sorry. I thought if I directed it at her it wouldn't affect anyone else."

Lydia huffed at him, picking grass out of her hair.

"Hey." Stiles looked between Lydia and Dotty, contemplating. "Can you read the dog's mind?"

Lydia focused on the dog for a second then shook her head. 

"Not a thing."

 

* * *

 

 

Time seemed to pass quickly after that. Peter hadn't left Stiles any new gifts, Scott had been putting in a little extra effort to spend time with Stiles, and Stiles' dad had pulled back on the grounding a little so stiles could hang out for awhile after community service.

There was a memorable moment where Stiles had wandered into one of the storage closets for some more paint brushes and had run into Allison and Lydia as they left it, hand in hand and both with pink cheeks. 

(Less memorable was that night when Lydia had showed up at his house and curled up next to him with tears in her eyes.)

Oh, and Derek had picked up the habit of climbing through Stiles' window every night that the Sheriff worked late. 

Most of the time Derek just laid on the bed reading while Stiles used his computer. But sometimes they would venture downstairs and watch a movie or Stiles would sit next to him on the bed and stream something on Netflix.

They talked sometimes, about how Derek left Beacon Hills with his sister after a house fire killed the rest of his family, about Stiles' mom dying, and about how Peter had changed after he woke up from a medically induced coma after the fire.

By the time they reached the halfway mark of their community service sentence Stiles considered Derek one of his best friends. Which was only a problem if you took into consideration the big fat crush Stiles was nursing for Derek. 

There had been moments, brief but nice moments, where Stiles thought that Derek might be feeling the same, but then Derek would make his exit and leave Stiles on the edge of what might have been a 'moment'.

Like when they were watching Troll 2 (Stiles had almost hit Derek with his flailing arms after Derek told him that he hadn't even heard of it) and Derek was genuinely laughing. Stiles hadn't been able to take his eyes off of him, and Derek had eventually glanced back at him. 

Stiles swore that Derek leaned in. His eyes definitely slid down to Stiles' mouth, but then Derek was rolling off the bed and talking about how he needed to make a phone call before he jumped right out the window. 

So Stiles had been left confused and frustrated most nights. He was about ready to say 'screw it' and just roll on top of Derek and see where that led them.

 

 

* * *

 

 

"I need your help."

Stiles choked on his soda and stared up at Lydia from his seat against the outside wall. Scott and Allison were "talking" in an empty closet and Lydia was eating with Jackson so Stiles had taken his lunch outside alone. 

"We're taking a walk, Stiles. Get up."

The irony wasn't lost on Stiles as he stood to follow Lydia's orders and walk behind her toward the edge of the forest.

"I think I'm in love with Allison." Lydia's voice was just a whisper, her eyes on the path that was barely visible under their feet. 

Stiles could feel how wide his eyes were, and made a conscious effort to tame his face.

"Um. Okay. So. You love Allison. She's a very nice girl. You're both very pretty, I'm sure she would understand?"

Lydia arched her brow and stopped walking. She almost looked angry, but mostly she looked worried.

"First of all, mind out of the gutter. I never ever want to catch you thinking about us like that."

Stiles grimaced and turned his thoughts to the design of the tree trunk in front of him, following the lines until his mind was clear of anything else.

"Okay. Second. Allison is with Scott. I'm with Jackson. Even if she could ever... like me, we're not even close to single."

"Why don't you just do your... thing?" Stiles asked, wiggling his fingers in front of her forehead. 

Lydia snatched his hand and squeezed tightly. 

"No. Stiles. I refuse to use my ability for selfish gain. It wouldn't be fair to know before she would want to tell me."

"You used your ABILITY just yesterday to see if Scott was going to sit in your spot so you could sit there fir - OW OW Okay okay Lydia, Jesus stop that, give me my hand back!"

Lydia's hand dropped his and flew away from it before the words were fully out of his mouth. She frowned deeper and rubbed at her wrist.

"Oh God. I'm sorry. Lydia I didn't mean to."

"It's fine. It's still new."

They stood staring out into the forest for a minute, both silent.

"I just don't want her to freak out. And I don't want to hurt any of them. Allison, Scott, or Jackson."

"You're not afraid of hurting me?" Stiles feigned hurt, holding a hand over his chest and sighing dramatically. 

"Of course I am. But you're an open book anyway. And now that I know that your annoying attempts at wooing me were just a very convincing front, you're kind of the closest thing I have to a best friend."

"I thought Allison was your best friend."

"We're close. But you're smart. And I like smart."

Stiles grabbed her hand again and swung it gently. 

"Does this mean that I finally have a chance at your heart?" He grinned widely and brushed a kiss across her knuckles.

"Oh Stiles. You wouldn't know what to do with my heart if you had it. Besides, I don't think I can take Derek, even without his super strength."

"We really don't have to talk about that."

"Is there anything to talk about, you saw him and your immediate thought was to ru-"

"AND THAT IS AS FAR AS WE WILL GO WITH THAT CONVERSATION!" Stiles yelled with his hands over his ears and his eyes screwed up as he tried to force his thoughts into something threatening but it was put off by Lydia giggling.

"I guess you don't want to know what he thought about you then."

Stiles just shook his head and pulled her into a hug. 

"I really do love you, Lydia. Even if you refuse to remember that we were best friends for a whole year in elementary school."

"I remember it, you idiot." Lydia muttered, resting her face against his chest. "I do have a reputation to uphold. Well. I did have one. It's probably tarnished beyond belief now."

"You'll always be the most popular girl to me."

"I don't want to tell her. I can't help how I feel, but that doesn't mean I really want anything to happen with her. It just scares me." Lydia muttered into his shirt.

Stiles didn't say anything, just tightened his arms around her and let her think.

They stood there hugging until they started hearing Jackson crashing through the leaves behind them.

"If you're done hitting on my girlfriend, Stilinski, Deaton wants us to finish painting under the bridge, and then we can leave for the day."

Jackson wrapped his arm around Lydia's shoulder and shot a smug look at Stiles, obviously aiming to stake a claim on Lydia like Stiles actually any kind of competition. 

Lydia just rolled her eyes and shrugged him off, muttering under her breath about neanderthal men and treating women as possessions. She let Stiles and Jackson trail behind her on the way back, leaving them completely and slipping her arm through Allison's when they emerged completely from the forest. 

Stiles watched them lead the way to the bridge, Allison between Scott and Lydia, one hand holding Scott's and the other arm linked with Lydia's. He almost laughed at how cliche they were, falling into a love triangle while also dealing with random super powers and a deranged probation officer stalking them.

Any potential laughter died in his throat, however, when they finally reached their destination. Scrawled in bright red paint, at least Stiles hoped it was just paint, were the words "I will kill you". 

Allison curled into Scott and Lydia reached back for Stiles and Jackson, bringing them closer. 

"We have to do something about this." Scott said quietly, his eyes huge.

They all nodded and stared at the wall, actually feeling the gravity of the situation for once, until Stiles couldn't take it anymore and grabbed one of the buckets of paint.

"We're not going to let him win." Was all he said as he started painting over the words. He felt empowered when Scott and Lydia both stepped up next to help him. Allison and Jackson joined a minute later, and they had it painted over in record time. 

After they were done Scott pulled Stiles aside and asked him to text Derek about meeting them to talk about going after Peter themselves. 

Stiles didn't ask why he had to do it, why Scott couldn't just text him, he just nodded and pulled out his phone.

 

* * *

 

 

The next day Derek was waiting for them outside of the center after they changed into their jumpsuits. 

"Stiles told me that he's been escalating?" Was the first thing he said. pushing off of the wall he'd been leaning against to address Scott.

"He's threatening to kill us now. We figured it might be time to start going after him."

Derek nodded, looking at each of them in turn, eyes lingering a bit on Stiles before he sighed.

"I've been to his apartment, the landlord says that he hasn't been there since this all started. I think he might be living in the family house."

"The one that b-"

"Burned down. Yes, Scott, that one." Stiles interrupted, glaring at him.

Scott at least had the sensibility to look sorry.

"If he really is acting like a feral animal which, knowing my uncle, is likely, then he's probably asleep during the day. If we go now we might be able to find him there. Catch him off guard and end this now."

A pang went through Stiles' heart at the set look on Derek's face. He couldn't imagine having to plan to kill a family member, much less after the loss of so many.

"Scott, Jackson, and Allison will come with me. Stiles. You and Lydia stay here and cover for us."

"No." Lydia's determined face was on and Derek's eyebrows were slowly climbing his forehead at her outrage.

"We're just as useful as you guys, possibly even more so. There's no reason to keep us behind."

"You're staying and that is the end of it." Derek replied. 

Lydia opened her mouth but closed it when Allison put her hand on her arm.

Stiles waited until the others were ready to leave before pulling Derek to the side.

"You're not going to be stupid, right?"

Derek just looked at him, face blank.

"I mean. I know this is hard. Don't. If you guys can't beat him, then there's always another option. Don't get yourself killed over this, please." 

Stiles shifted under Derek's gaze, knowing well that Lydia was probably watching them as well from where she was helping Allison put together her crossbow.

"If you die. I don't know what I would do. We just met and I... don't want to lose you."

Derek sighed again, because every situation seemed to call for a sigh from him, and grabbed Stiles by the shoulders. 

"I'm not going to promise you anything, because then you'll feel worse if anything bad happens to me. But I am going to try my best to come back."

Stiles nodded and closed his eyes briefly to hide the fear.

"And as for losing me..."

Derek trailed off and Stiles opened his eyes to see what made him stop. Derek looked thoughtful and fond, the most emotion that Stiles had seen on his face since meeting him.

"You're not going to lose me." 

Stiles smiled weakly and tilted forward to lean on Derek. 

"I better not. You owe me like five dates."

Derek laughed and the sound made Stiles' stomach twist.

"I'll take you to dinner after all of this is over. How does that sound?"

"Sounds great. Somewhere with cheeseburgers."

Derek hummed in response and pushed Stiles back a little. They were both still for a moment, staring at each other as though that could show all of the things that they weren't saying. Then Stiles' hand twitched and Derek pulled him back in.

It took Stiles one whole shocked minute to realize that Derek was kissing him, one hand fisted in the back of his shirt and the other on the back of his neck. Once he figured it out, though, he participated eagerly. His hands found the sides of Derek's face and his lips parted easily against Derek's.

"Well now you have to stay alive." Stiles rasped when Derek pulled away.

Derek just sighed and held Stiles to him for a minute. When his arms finally fell away he coughed and crossed them across his chest.

"I'll call you if anything happens, after. Or if nothing happens. Just. I'll call you, okay?"

Stiles laughed loudly and now he was certain that the whole group was glancing over at them.

"Yes. Okay. That is okay with me. One hundred percent. I will wait by the phone."

Derek nodded and spun on his heel to face the others.

"We should go now. We still have the light which means we should have the advantage."

Scott, Allison, and Jackson followed Derek to his car. Stiles and Lydia watched them until they were gone, hands clasped together.

Stiles went back to painting while Lydia leaned against the dry part and stared at him.

"You know what we have to do, right?"

Stiles paused mid paint stroke to look at Lydia.

"They think that we can't handle this. They want to keep us here where it's 'safe'." Lydia looked calm but her words were cut with anger. "We have to go to the school."

"Woah." Stiles dropped his brush onto the paint bucket's lid. "Don't take this as me calling you weak, because you could probably break me in half if you wanted. But they might have a point keeping us here."

Lydia's eyebrow twitched, but she let him continue.

"You and I have the more... cerebral abilities. The others at least have some sort of advantage against him."

"Please. You could make him kill himself and I could tell everyone his moves three steps ahead."

"We don't know that. Neither of our abilities worked with Deaton's dog. Whatever happened with Peter... it made him animalistic. He might not be human anymore. He might be working completely on instinct and not have a thought in his head except killing us."

"Well. None of this would have been happening if you hadn't rejected him."

Stiles took that as her acceptance of him being right, and picked his brush back up.

"Besides, someone had to stay behind and get this done if we're going to get our hours marked off."

That was apparently the wrong thing to say, since Lydia just huffed and threw her brush onto the ground.

"Nope. We're doing this."

Stiles flailed at her as she stalked away and gave a second's consideration to telling her to come back and paint. The shame that filled him for even thinking about that made him follow after her without another word. 

 

* * *

 

 

Two hours later, Lydia's hand in his as they stood in the middle of the lacrosse field staring down Peter, he wished for the first time in his life that he had never met any of his friends and thanked every spiritual being present that he still had the bat in his car from when they tested Jackson's healing.

"Lydia. Please, please tell me you're getting something from him. Anything."

"I don't think right now would be a good time to start lying to you, Stiles."

Peter had corralled them into the center of the field almost as soon as they arrived at the school. He was different than he had been, even from the last time they had seen him at the center. His eyes were wild, and his nails were apparently growing at a rapid speed. 

"Okay. Here's the plan." Stiles squeezed Lydia's hand while he spoke quietly, eyes focused on Peter as he circled them. "I attack him with the bat, you back away slowly. Don't run. Once you're far enough away, run into the building. Barricade the door. Call Derek, then call my dad. Tell him anything that will get him out here with at least one deputy and his gun. Got it?"

Instead of answering, Lydia just squeezed his hand back. Stiles took a deep breath and let go of her hand to adjust his grip on the bat. 

"On go."

He took two steps forward and Peter seemed to perk up and move toward him. Another breath. He could hear Lydia's hand slipping into her pocket and around her phone.

"GO!"

Peter lunged at the same time as Stiles, and Lydia took two small steps backwards. The bat connected with Peter's side but he just growled and swung at Stiles' arm.

Stiles screamed as Peter's nails ripped into his skin. He heard Lydia sob somewhere behind him and it spurred him on through the pain. 

Peter's attention wasn't on him anymore and he had the sinking feeling that Lydia hadn't done as he suggested.

"LYDIA. GO NOW." Stiles yelled, rushing at Peter again. 

Lydia started walking backwards even as her face contorted with anger.

"I can help you Stiles, don't make me do this."

Stiles turned to get an eye on Lydia, and Peter used the distraction to swipe at Stiles' side. He drew more blood and the pain took Stiles to his knees. 

Peter immediately turned his gaze to Lydia, who wasn't quite far enough to start running.

Stiles couldn't get a word out before Peter was bounding at Lydia, his eyes glinting. 

"PETER, STOP!"

When Peter didn't even hesitate before sinking his claws into Lydia's side Stiles knew that he wasn't going to be any help, but he had to try. He had to see if there was any humanity left in Peter for his order to cling to. 

Lydia stopped screaming and the area went quiet. They had maybe five minutes before anyone realized where they were, then maybe a minute and a half for Scott to get to them from where he was searching. The others would take at least ten more minutes to get to the school. Seventeen minutes. More than enough time for both of them to be dead. He had to try something.

"You are a bad, bad dog." 

Peter's head swiveled toward him, eyes red and laser sharp. His claws were still embedded in Lydia's side and she was limp on the ground. Her blood was starting to pool underneath her, staining the light blue dress she had insisted on wearing. 

Stiles took a deep breath and shifted the bat to his dominant hand. He knew that his plan would likely end with him dead in the very near future, but he had already decided to do whatever he could to get Peter away from Lydia.

"You're just a dirty little mutt, aren't you? Hiding in shadows and attacking teenagers from behind. Bad, bad dog."

The growl that Peter let out made Stiles' heart stop for a beat and by the time it started really pounding against his chest, Peter was bounding straight towards him. 

Stiles lifted the bat and was preparing to swing when he was suddenly on the other side of the field. 

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Scott was yelling right in his face, hands tight around his forearms.

"You are so lucky Lydia sent Allison a text saying you guys were coming here, if she hadn't..."

Suddenly the shock wore off and Stiles was pushing Scott off of him, trying to run back toward Peter.

"What are you doing, Stiles! I didn't take you away from him to have you run right back."

"Lydia is hurt, Scott! She is laying back there with him and he is going to kill her."

"Let me." Scott pushed him back again. "You stay out of the way for the others to take care of him, and I'll get her to the hospital."

Stiles nodded and Scott was gone, just a blur headed toward Lydia. Scott slowed a bit to sweep Lydia into his arms, and then he was off in the direction of the hospital. 

Peter was howling like he knew that his kill was being taken away from him, and Stiles stood still where he was hoping that it would keep Peter from attacking again so soon. He had dropped his bat when Scott grabbed him, and without it he was defenseless. 

Unfortunately, with Lydia and Scott gone, Peter's attention was focused solely on Stiles. The bat was too far away to make a run for, and Peter was stalking toward him with a feral grin on his face. His teeth seemed elongated and his back was arching like he wanted to be on all fours. 

When he was close enough for Stiles to hear his panting breaths, and arrow came out of nowhere and embedded itself into Peter's arm. Before his howl of pain was ended, another arrow landed in his leg and Stiles was being pushed out of the way so Jackson could jump onto Peter. 

Stiles stumbled back and then surged forward, skirting the fight to run for his bat. He tried his best to block out the sounds of Jackson and Peter fighting but Peter's growls and Jackson's pained yelps made his hands fumble on the grip of the bat. When he finally got the weapon in his hands and off the ground he swung back around to help Jackson. 

Peter was wounded. Jackson had brought a knife with him, but it hadn't been enough to get Peter to stop. He had thrown Jackson over to the side. Stiles could see the wounds on Jackson's face healing, which meant that he was at least still alive, but he wasn't moving. Peter was breathing heavily and limping when he turned to face Stiles again. The arrows had broken off in his arm and leg, and Jackson's knife was stuck in his side. 

Stiles thought for sure that the fight would have gone out of Peter by this point, but he was still growling and snarling as he made his way to Stiles, who lifted his bat and forced himself to be steady. 

Right when he started picking up speed, Peter hesitated. There was a firm presence behind Stiles and he knew from the confused tilt of Peter's head that it had to be Derek. It hit him like a bullet that this was a member of Derek's family, one of the few left, and that Peter was probably going to die. 

One of Derek's hands came down on Stiles' arm and made him lower the bat. Peter grinned wide, showing his teeth, and started moving forward again, probably sensing an easy kill with the help of his nephew. That changed when Derek stepped in front of Stiles and crouched into a fighting position. 

Peter's expression changed from smug to enraged in seconds, and he started charging faster. Derek met him halfway and they started to fight. Peter's claws drew blood, and Stiles' stomach twisted. Derek was stronger than anyone else could be, but he couldn't heal like Jackson. One good swipe from Peter and he would be dead. 

Peter never got the chance for that one solid hit, though. Derek got him turned in the right direction and an arrow from the bleachers tore through Peter's shoulder. Stiles could see Allison under the bleachers with another arrow already notched and ready to go. It wasn't needed.

A sharp crack brought Stiles' attention back to Derek and Peter, and he tried to muster up some apathy but he just couldn't. Derek was cradling Peter's head, obviously too loose for normal circumstances, with his back to Stiles. It didn't take much thought to put two and two together and realize that Derek had snapped his neck. 

Everything fell silent after that. Allison ran over to help Jackson stand as he started waking up, but Stiles' world was narrowed down to Derek's harsh breaths and hunched shoulders. He waved Allison away and dropped his bat as she started moving away with Jackson.

Stiles moved slowly to Derek's side, careful of any sudden movements or sounds. Derek didn't flinch when he touched him, just slid sideways off of his feet onto his knees. His hands clutched at Peter's arm and Stiles just wrapped his arms around him, both of them shaking with a horrible mix of adrenaline, relief, and grief. 

Neither of them spoke, just sat on the ground and held each other until the shaking had stopped and the sun was starting to rise. 

 

* * *

 

Two weeks later Lydia was finally being released from the hospital. 

Scott had followed after Stiles and Allison for an entire week apologizing profusely for 'abandoning them' during the fight because his mom had been on duty when he brought Lydia in and she wouldn't let him out of her sight. He didn't seem to care that neither of them blamed him. 

Allison had spent most of the two weeks at Lydia's side, keeping her company and avoiding the talk they needed to have about everything that was happening with them. Though she told Lydia that she wasn't sure what she actually wanted, Allison was still with Scott, who was being as patient as only Scott could be.

Jackson was around. He visited Lydia a few times but didn't stay for long, still stinging after Lydia broke up with him when she woke up in the hospital. He hung out at Scott's sometimes, bringing Danny to play video games. Apparently facing danger together made them actual friends. 

Derek had called Laura two days after everything at the school, and they were trying to repair their relationship as much as they could while she was still in New York. She was planning a trip back to help Derek deal with Peter's missing persons case and to settle the payments on their old house so Derek could finally restore and live in it.

As for Stiles, his dad's anger had fizzled out when he showed up at the hospital with Derek and a story about their probation officer going crazy and attacking them before running off into the forest. He was successfully ungrounded and forgiven, allowed to go out and see his friends again. 

Whenever Allison was away from the hospital Stiles was there, listening to Lydia talk about the prospects of an early admittance to a variety of top notch schools and being able to leave Beacon Hills and foolish feelings behind. He hung out with Scott and Jackson, which would always be surprising to him, and started actually getting to know Allison. 

The best thing that had come out of the horrible nightmare that was the past month of his life, by far, was Derek. One kiss and Stiles was gone. He hadn't pushed it at first, what with Derek obviously still grieving for the uncle who had once been sane. It had actually been Derek to make the first move. The day before Lydia was going to be released Derek had shown up at Stiles' house and just pulled him into a kiss. No fuss, no talking, just kissing. Which of course Stiles had ruined by asking a million questions that had gotten him the answers that he had wanted the whole time. 

When Lydia called Stiles on her first day of freedom he had had to untangle himself from Derek and stumble out of his room to answer. Within an hour they were all together in Derek's small one room apartment. Lydia, Derek, and Stiles sprawled on Derek's bed and Scott, Allison, and Jackson sat on the small couch while they all discussed the story they were giving the police and anyone who asked. 

"Doesn't it suck to think that we survived this completely insane situation, got super powers, and saw worse things than most adults have to see outside of a movie theater, but we still have to finish serving out our community service hours?" Stiles asked.

Everyone else groaned and Stiles hid his grin in Derek's side as he dodged the throw pillows being thrown at him.

"At least we all made it out alright. And together." Lydia murmured. Everyone settled into their spots as they silently agreed with her. Stiles hooked his ankle around Lydia's and smiled again into Derek's shirt. After everything it was nice to be able to lay there and feel calm, surrounded by people who had wormed their way into his heart.

**Author's Note:**

> If this is well received then I might work on making it a series.


End file.
